Next Term vs Zed

Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust, for macOS, Linux and Windows, with language servers, a debugger, extensions, real-time collaboration and remote development over SSH. For AI it has its own agent, edit predictions, and two ways to run other agents: External Agents such as Claude, Codex and Gemini CLI through the Agent Client Protocol, and Terminal Threads that run any agent CLI inside Zed, several at once. Next Term is a much smaller macOS terminal and editor with no AI of its own and no language servers. It runs command-line agents in tabs, shows whether each is working, done or waiting on you (read from the screen for Claude Code, Codex, Command Code and Gemini CLI), quotes its question in a notification, and lets one agent run the others over MCP. If Zed is your editor, its Terminal Threads may be all you need; Next Term is for people who want a terminal built around agents, with status that needs no setup, next to whatever editor they use.

At a glance

Feature	Next Term	Zed
Platforms	macOS 13 or later	macOS, Linux, Windows
Price	Free	Free Personal plan; paid Pro and Business plans for more AI
Open source	✓ MIT	✓ GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 parts
Account	None	Not needed to edit; sign in for collaboration and Zed’s hosted AI
AI of its own	— Runs the agents you install	✓ The Agent Panel and edit predictions, with hosted models or your own API keys
Agents from other vendors	✓ Any agent that runs in a terminal; 20 recognised by name	✓ External Agents over ACP, and Terminal Threads for any agent CLI
Several agents at once	✓ Tabs and split panes	✓ Parallel Agents in the Threads Sidebar, optionally in Git worktrees
Status of each agent	✓ Working, done, waiting (with the question), failed. Read from the screen for Claude Code, Codex, Command Code and Gemini CLI, and from output timing for other agents	✓ A status indicator for each thread in the sidebar
Notifications	✓ Quote the agent’s question, no setup; Dock badge	✓ When an agent finishes or waits; Terminal Threads notify on the terminal bell
MCP	✓ An MCP server: one agent starts, prompts, waits for and reads the others	✓ An MCP client, its servers forwarded to External Agents
Code editor	✓ 112 grammars, Go to File (`⌘P`)	✓ Language servers, Vim mode, a much fuller editor
Debugger	—	✓ Through the Debug Adapter Protocol
Extensions	—	✓ Languages, themes, debuggers, MCP servers
Reviewing agent changes	✓ Side-by-side diffs; stage, unstage or revert per hunk; the Git Log and blame	✓ Accept or reject each hunk; checkpoints; stage or unstage hunks in the Git Panel
Collaboration	—	✓ Channels, shared projects, voice chat, screen sharing
Remote work	Partly: terminal tabs on your servers over ssh, kept running in tmux or herdr; the editor opens your Mac’s files	✓ Remote development over SSH

Choose Zed if…

You want a full, fast editor with language servers, a debugger and extensions, on macOS, Linux or Windows.
You want the agents inside the editor. Zed’s own agent, External Agents and Terminal Threads all live in one Threads Sidebar, and you review their changes hunk by hunk.
You pair with people. Channels, shared projects and voice chat are built in.
You work on remote machines over SSH.

Choose Next Term if…

You want agent status with nothing to configure. Next Term shows working, done or waiting on the tab of 20 agents as soon as they start: Claude Code, Codex, Command Code and Gemini CLI read from their screen, the way you would, and the others from output timing. In Zed, a Terminal Thread notifies you when the program rings the terminal bell, and Claude Code has to be set to ring it.
You want the question in the notification. When an agent asks for permission, Next Term’s notification quotes it and takes you to the tab.
You want one agent to run the others. Next Term is an MCP server: an orchestrator can list every tab with its agent’s state, start agents, send prompts, wait and read their screens, across projects.
You want a small native Mac app, about a 16 MB download, with no account and no AI service attached.

Use both

Write and debug in Zed; run your terminal agents in Next Term on the same folder. Next Term’s side-by-side diffs (⌥⌘G) and Zed’s Git Panel show the same changes.
Let Zed’s agent drive Next Term. Zed is an MCP client: add a context server that runs nxtrm mcp, and Zed’s agent can start Claude Code or Codex in Next Term tabs, send them tasks, wait for them and read the results. Zed forwards its MCP servers to External Agents too.

Questions

Zed can already run Claude Code in a Terminal Thread. Why add Next Term?

If Zed is the only app you want open, Terminal Threads cover a lot. Next Term adds status on each agent’s tab, with no settings to change, notifications that quote the agent’s question, Claude Code’s, Gemini CLI’s and Qwen Code’s IDE link (your selection, and proposed edits as diffs to accept or reject), and an MCP server through which one agent orchestrates the others.

Is Zed free?

Zed’s Personal plan is free, including unlimited use of your own API keys and of external agents; Pro and Business plans add hosted AI. The editor is open source. Next Term is free and open source too, with no paid tier.

Does Next Term have a debugger or language servers?

No. Next Term’s editor colours code with 112 grammars and finds files fast, but it has no debugger, language servers, refactoring or extensions. For those, keep Zed or another IDE next to it.

Sources

Checked October 2026 against Zed’s own site, documentation and repository. Products change quickly; if something here is out of date, please open an issue.

Zed (description, platforms) and pricing (checked 6 October 2026)
Zed on GitHub (licence)
Authentication (what needs an account)
External Agents, Terminal Threads and Parallel Agents
Agent Panel (reviewing changes, notifications) and MCP
Debugger, Git, Channels and Remote Development

Next Term is free and open source under the MIT licence. Made by Mishuk Adhikari. This site uses no cookies, no trackers and no third-party requests.